Implementing Google Ads conversion tracking allows you to gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. You’ll discover which campaigns yield the best results, how users engage with your ads, and strategies to enhance your conversion rates.
Many website owners are unsure how to connect Google Ads to their WordPress site, often feeling daunted by the setup process. However, it’s simpler than they may believe.
At CanadaCreate, we manage several paid advertising campaigns and utilize MonsterInsights for effective Google Ads tracking.
In this article, we will guide you through the process of setting up eCommerce Google Ads conversion tracking on your WordPress site. This is the same technique we apply on our own websites.
The Importance of Setting Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking in WordPress
If you’re running Google Ads for your WordPress blog, eCommerce store, or membership site, understanding your ad performance is crucial. You can’t enhance what you don’t measure.
Monitoring Google Ads conversions allows you to track the revenue generated from users who interacted with your ad campaigns. It also reveals which paid keywords and ad groups lead to the highest conversions, enabling you to optimize your campaigns and allocate your budget towards more profitable search terms.
In addition, Google Ads conversion tracking reveals user behavior on your WordPress site after they click on an ad.
For example, you may notice many users visiting a landing page but leaving without completing their purchase after adding items to their cart.
This data can help you enhance the checkout process, provide discounts and incentives to users who are about to exit your site, and create a better overall user experience.
Now, let’s explore how to implement Google Ads tracking in WordPress.
Integrating Google Ads with Your WordPress Website
The simplest method to link Google Ads with WordPress is by using MonsterInsights, the top analytics plugin for WordPress that enables you to set up Google Analytics without any coding.
At CanadaCreate and our other brands, we utilize MonsterInsights to connect Google Analytics and Google Ads. Additionally, it assists us in configuring advanced tracking features in WordPress. For more information, check out our comprehensive MonsterInsights review.
MonsterInsights provides a PPC Tracking addon that allows you to establish thorough conversion tracking without writing any code or hiring a developer.
Important Note:In this tutorial, we will utilize the MonsterInsights Pro license, which comes with the PPC Tracking addon. Alternatively, you can use the free MonsterInsights Lite version to set up Google Analytics.
Begin by installing and activating the MonsterInsights plugin. If you need assistance, refer to our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After activation, you will be taken to the welcome screen in your WordPress dashboard. Click the ‘Launch the Wizard’ button to proceed.
Follow the on-screen instructions to connect Google Analytics to your website. For detailed guidance, check out our guide on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.
Once Google Analytics is connected to WordPress, the next step is to install the PPC Tracking addon.
Navigate to Insights » Addons in your WordPress dashboard and find the ‘PPC Tracking’ addon.
Click the ‘Download & Activate’ button. The addon will automatically install and activate on your website.
Setting Up a Conversion Action in Google Ads
Next, you will need to create a conversion action in Google Ads.
Start by visiting the Google Ads website and logging into your account.
Next, click the ‘+’ icon located in the left sidebar.
You will then see various options for creating conversions.
Select the ‘Conversion action’ option.
Google Ads will prompt you to choose the type of conversions you wish to track, offering four options: website, app, phone call, or import.
For this guide, we will select the ‘Website’ option to track ad conversions.
You will need to input the website URL where you want to monitor conversions.
Once you’ve entered the URL, click the ‘Scan’ button.
Google Ads will present two methods for creating conversion actions: automatic and manual.
In the automatic method, you will select the conversion goal, choose a match type, and enter the URL, which is ideal if you know which events to count as conversions.
However, we suggest using the manual method for greater control. Scroll down and click on ‘+ Add a conversion action manually.’
Next, you will need to fill in the details for the Conversion action.
First, select the ‘Goal and action optimization’ for your conversion, which represents the action you want to track.
For instance, when a user subscribes to your newsletter, makes a purchase, adds an item to their cart, or submits a contact form, these actions can be tracked.
In this tutorial, we will choose ‘Subscribe’ as our conversion goal. Next, you can input the name for your conversion.
You can now scroll down to select a value for your conversion. Google Ads allows you to set a uniform value for each conversion, assign different values for various conversions, or opt not to use a value at all.
For this guide, we will choose the ‘Use the same for each conversion’ option, select the currency, and enter a specific value.
Additionally, you can decide how many conversions to count for each click.
If you’re tracking email newsletter signups, we recommend selecting the ‘One’ option. This ensures that each subscriber is counted only once. However, for an eCommerce store, you may want to use the ‘Every’ option to count each purchase as a conversion.
After making these selections, simply click the ‘Done’ button at the bottom.
You can now view your conversion action in the ‘Create conversion actions manually using code’ section.
Click the ‘Save and continue’ button to receive instructions on adding the tracking tags for your conversion action to your website.
On the next screen, you will see three options for adding the conversion action to your website. Simply select the ‘Use Google Tag Manager’ option.
You should see the Conversion ID and Conversion Label. Copy these to a notepad or keep the browser window open.
To complete the setup, navigate to your WordPress website dashboard and access the MonsterInsights settings.
You can do this by going to Insights » Settings and clicking on the ‘Conversions’ tab.
Next, scroll down to the ‘PPC Ads Pixel Tracking’ section.
Enter the Conversion ID, ensuring you follow the correct format, which will look like this: AW-123456789.
If you are tracking Google Ads for Easy Digital Downloads, WooCommerce, or MemberPress, enable the eCommerce addon and enter the Conversion Label in the corresponding field. For further details, please refer to our guide on setting up eCommerce tracking in WordPress.
That’s it! You have successfully set up Google Ads conversion tracking on your WordPress website.
Access Google Ads Conversion Tracking Data in Google Analytics.
Enhance your tracking by linking Google Ads with Google Analytics to gain deeper insights into user behavior on your website after they click on an ad.
For example, you can track the number of visitors coming from paid search and analyze which pages they visit after arriving on your site. Additionally, you can apply various filters and create customized reports in Google Analytics.
Now, let’s explore how to connect your Google Ads account to Google Analytics.
Start by logging into your account and navigating to the ‘Admin’ settings.
Next, select the ‘Google Ads links’ option.
You will find this option in the ‘Product links’ section.
A new window will appear from the right side.
Click the ‘Link’ button located in the top right corner.
You will then see various options for setting up the link.
First, select the ‘Choose Google Ads accounts’ option.
On the following screen, choose the Google Ads account you want to connect.
After making your selection, click the ‘Confirm’ button at the top.
You will now see the Google Ads account you wish to link.
Proceed by clicking the ‘Next’ button.
In the following step, Google Analytics will present options for enabling personalized advertising and auto-tagging.
You can proceed with the default settings by clicking the ‘Next’ button.
Next, you will see a summary of your Link setup settings.
If everything looks correct, click the ‘Submit’ button to continue.
You will now see a ‘Link Created’ notification in your Google Ads account, indicating that you have successfully linked Google Ads with Google Analytics.
Please note that it may take up to 24 hours for your Google Ads data to show up in Analytics reports.
Next, you can access the Google Ads conversion tracking report in Google Analytics 4.
First, navigate to Acquisition » Traffic acquisition in the left menu and scroll down to see the number of visitors from the Paid Search channel.
Then, go to Acquisition » Overview in the Life cycle section to view the Session report for Google Ads campaigns, which will indicate which campaign generated the most traffic.
You can also click the ‘View Google Ads campaigns’ option at the bottom for more detailed information.
For each campaign, you can track the total number of users, sessions, Google Ads clicks, cost per click (CPC), conversions, and more.
This report allows you to identify which campaigns are performing the best.
Explore Additional Options for Google Ads Conversion Tracking in WordPress
When setting up conversion tracking, ensuring a proper setup is crucial.
That’s why we recommend MonsterInsights, as it manages everything for you seamlessly without requiring any coding.
If you prefer to add code directly to your WordPress site, you can use the free WPCode plugin, which will help secure your customizations for the future.
For more information, you can refer to our tutorial on adding custom code in WordPress.
WPCode also offers a premium version that simplifies adding eCommerce tracking pixels for Google Ads and other popular platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok.
With the Conversion Pixels addon from WPCode, you can track events such as viewing items, adding to cart, starting checkout, making purchases, and more.
Easily track conversions for your Google Ads by copying and pasting your Google Analytics ID, Google Ads Tag ID, and Ads Conversion Label into the designated fields.
We hope this guide has helped you set up Google Ads conversion tracking in WordPress. You may also find our tutorial on configuring WordPress form tracking in Google Analytics useful, along with our recommendations for the best WooCommerce reporting and analytics plugins.
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